The Cursed Clan: A Story of Ryu
by Ryu003
Summary: Faced with hordes of enemies, terrible entities, and iternal strife with hormones thrown in, Guennin Ryu, son and namesake of Gaiden, fights for his life and the honor of his new home, the Leaf Village. Naruto/DOA. Reviews are appreciated.
1. New Rivalries

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Happy?

Ryu dug in as the young shinobi hurled himself once again in his direction. Too predictably, Naruto attempted a wild right swing to his jaw. Ryu stepped inside the attack without hesitation and charged forward with his knee, ramming flawlessly into the orange ninja's torso.

Attempting to follow up one successful blow with another, the fresh-from-the-academy guennin shifted into mid air, raising his leg to strike. Naruto, now clasping his stomach in pain, seemed uncharacteristically aware of Ryu's intentions, and blocked the kick inches from his head. The impact issued a sickening percussive ringing. The two opponents separated to catch their breath.

Ino and Sakura had gotten into one of their usual spats earlier that afternoon. This time, however, Naruto had intervened on behalf of Sakura, the fair-haired beauty who had been the object of his desperate affection since their time in the academy. Similarly, Ryu stepped in to defend Ino, the stunning blonde who was one year his senior. She'd been looking after him vigilantly since his ascension into the ranks of the shinobi.

Brash little Naruto, peeved by the new kid's smart mouth, challenged Ryu to a 'sparring match' outside of the village. The bout had obviously elevated beyond a playful spar, and undoubtedly, Naruto had been expecting to be done with this less experienced guennin much sooner.

The floor of the woods surrounding the small group of Leaf ninja, spectators and participants, was littered with detached bark, crushed leaves, and sparse spots of sweat and blood. The trees at the sides of the cleared path stood straight and tall, aside from the one sickly spruce that Naruto had rammed young Ryu up against a while earlier. The sky sank into a brisk dusk, as the once tension-filled air was now taking on a sense of exhaustion and impatience.

"Feeling tired yet, ya little brat?!" Naruto managed, hunched over with his hands on his knees.

"Hmm… nope. How about you? Didn't knock the breath out of you, did I?" His voice boasted a playful ring. Ryu was just as worn out as Naruto was, maybe more so. He was just less willing to show it. He knew before they started that it would be hard to take someone with field experience.

Ryu had heard the rumors about Naruto, how he had failed his entrance exams once or twice. He'd also heard about Naruto's antics in the field. And he didn't care. Ryu had actually began to gain a respect for him. Naruto grew ever stronger, despite a less than fortunate situation. He accepted Naruto's challenge not out of a sense of pride, but for a chance to test himself against his role model.

But he decided to keep his favorable opinions of Naruto to himself.

There had been a brief pause, and Naruto broke the welcomed silence.

"Tnh! I'm fine!" He raised, lifting his clenched fist up to shoulder level.

Naruto continued. "I guess I'll just have to keep bashing you until you can't stand on your own, then." An eager smile crept across his face.

"You won't get the chance." Ryu answered. He decided it was time for him to show what he could really do.

Ryu's hands instantly flew together and cycled through a short series of hand signs. He noticed Naruto taking a step back, eyes widening. Ryu felt his chakra energy pulse through his body and quickly accumulate in his hands. He set his feet apart and extended his right arm, positioning the hand in the air behind him.

He whipped his arm around in a slashing motion.

"Body Scythe Jutsu!!" he announced, as a meter long blade of white energy projected from his fingertips and jumped toward Naruto. The dumbfounded spiky-haired ninja couldn't move in time. Though he sidestepped the brunt of it, the edge of the blade cut a clean crimson streak across his right shoulder. The crimson wasted no time in coating the arm of his jacket, as well as the nearby ground.

***

The group of youthful shinobi that were eagerly watching the fight crowded around him instantly. The bulk of them were older than I, and I only knew a few of them by name. I stayed where I was. The group clamored for bandages and herbs, the mending led by Sakura. She had little patience for Naruto, from what I knew, but she wasted no time in sewing him up. A feeling of sickness washed over me as my teammates, Kai and Zuno, walked up to either side of me. They saw the hint of torment in my face as my expression began to fall. Before, the wrong end of my jutsu was reserved for the bamboo dummies and stone targets of the training area that our sensei had made us. The sight of it injuring another person so immensely, especially a comrade, was almost too much to bear. I quickly had to remind myself that this was my new life. It was better to be squeamish now and to get used to it than to be hit with the reality while on a mission.

Kai, a family friend that I had known since birth, put her hand on my shoulder in effort to comfort me. I was so numb that I didn't notice it right off. I acknowledged her and returned my gaze to the huddle. Naruto was fine. Of course. I'm pretty sure this whole thing did more psychological damage to me than physical damage to him. He still needed medical attention, though.

I realized too late that this would be an awkward trip to the infirmary.


	2. The Team

Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto. Still happy?

"Ugh… get off me!! I said I'm fine!" Naruto's protests must have been audible for miles.

"I'll make sure you're not if you don't hold still!" Sakura was attempting to change Naruto's blood-soaked bandages on the way back to the village. Needless to say, he wasn't too pleased at her treating him like a toddler with a paper cut.

A smirked crossed my face as I visualized this comparison.

"First time you've cracked a smile in a while," Zuno perceived while we were walking. I jolted back to reality and threw him an appreciative look. I must've been pretty disoriented earlier. Zuno's rarely ever anywhere close to sympathetic, but even he shied away from sarcastic insults now.

"Sorry. Haven't been in a very smiley mood lately." he rolled his eyes at my understatement.

Zuno and I had been friends since my arrival here. From our days in the academy we were nearly inseparable, though it was probably just because I had no friends at the time and no one else in our class would tolerate his remarks. The fact that we've also always been bitter rivals, though, always managed to give any sensei or other instructor we had chronic migraines.

I could barely see him now, as the shroud of night began to overtake the sky. I could still make out his loose-fitting clothes, however, and the worn leathery suspender straps that not only held up his pants, but provided a good place for a holster of shuriken and the like. His shinobi headband gleamed slightly across his forehead in the dim moonlight. And, of course, strapped to his back (and with no scabbard) was his signature double-bladed sword. Each blade was on an opposite end of the hilt, and both blades were sharp on either edge. It was an exotic weapon, definitely not from anywhere around here. He claimed it to be an heirloom passed on to him from his father.

And he was definitely no slouch when it came to using the thing.

The three of us had unintentionally fallen back from the remainder of the group. Many of the ones that were present had sprinted back to the village, likely out of fear of getting in trouble or something. Naruto, Sakura, the mysterious Sasuke Uchiha, and one other boy in shorts and a hoodie were walking ahead of us, barely out of earshot. I went over in my head all the possible reactions Naruto would have to me from now on. I really hoped that he didn't downright hate me. He'd been ignoring us this entire time.

I glanced over to Kai at my right. She seemed deep in thought, wearing a completive look and staring straight ahead. I took this as an opportunity and went over her features. She wore her headband like Zuno did, in the traditional way across her forehead. It's moonlit shine was put to shame, though, by the gleam of her fair skin, the rays of the moon complementing the soft points of her face perfectly. Her green eyes were the only clearly defined color that I could see at the moment. Her hair was going down her back, perfectly ending at her shoulder blades. Though it was hard to tell now, her hair was a very light, very soft brown. She wore a well fitted, insulated looking steel-colored vest with a collar that reached almost to her jaw, wearing a black jumpsuit underneath that disappeared into her gloves and stopped just shy of her ankles. It reminded me of the outfit that most of the chunnin and jounnin wore, only more attractive. Inevitably, my sideways gaze ended up at her face again. And apparently, I wasn't being as subtle as I'd hoped.

"Yes?" Kai asked before casually looking over at me, a triumphant grin tugging at her lips. I had to think fast to spare myself at least a little embarrassment.

"-Nothing. Just wondering what you're so wrapped up in at the moment." Hah! That was good.

Zuno snickered.

"Well." she turned her glance back forward. "Not much. Today's just been a long day. And a weird one."

I faced ahead then, too. "No doubt." That's all I had at the moment.

We reached the gate to the village. It was wide open, inviting us into our familiar home, though it wasn't quite as familiar to me. The team of Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke stayed together, on their way to get Naruto's wounds checked out, but the rugged boy in the hoodie veered off to some houses to the right. My eyes followed him for a moment, but they soon came back and I stopped to say goodbye to my teammates and friends.

"Guess I'll see you guys tomorrow." Zuno announced tiredly.

"Bright and early," Kai's voice was almost annoyingly perky. Almost.

She continued. "Sensei Charric wants us ready for some kind of new training regiment at the break of dawn." She turned toward the direction of her house and started walking. She turned back and waved. "Goodnight!"

Zuno faced back to me. "I'd invite you over, but my mom's giving my dad some kind of weeklong guilt trip. Don't really want you there if it finally boils over." He coolly looked off to the left and put his hands in his pockets as if he didn't care about what was going on.

"Got it." I replied. "Don't worry. I'm going straight to bed, anyway."

"Figures. Guess I should turn in too, though. Hn. Guess I'll see you in the morning." Zuno walked off and raised his hand for his version of a wave goodbye.

I stood by myself and briefly appreciated the clear nighttime sky. The stars and the almost-full moon were beautiful. A brisk gust blew through me, but I repressed a shutter and instead welcomed it. My surroundings did wonders to relax me. I closed my eyes and gave a quiet sigh, and I forced myself to begin the hike to my apartment, which was on the opposite side of the village. At least I'd be able to take in this night on my way there.

I passed three lines of buildings before I reached the wide street that would dead end at my apartment's doorstep. I started down the street, surrounded by complete silence. I passed dozens of closed kiosks and larger restaurants, including the very popular ramen hut. At the end of the street was the stone bridge crossing over our village's small stream. I was aware of my exhaustion now, so I only glanced at the brilliant reflections of the stars on the placid water as I stepped across. The building complex was clear in view now, just about one hundred paces ahead. The modest yet cozy three-story building was a welcomed sight.

I slid the door open and nodded to the night-shift receptionist. She always seemed very pleasant, despite her less than desirable working hours. Not that I came in this late all that often. I walked to the staircase, stopping before ascending. I wearily recalled that my place was on the top floor. I wasn't looking forward to climbing three flights of stairs. I complained under my breath and started putting one foot ahead of the other… or above, rather.

I emerged in the hallway on the top floor, walking to the left toward my door. There were only three doors on either side of the hallway, mine was the second on the right, on the outer part of the building. I dug my key from my pocket and fluidly put it into the lock, turning it in the same motion. I entered into the living room/ kitchen of my apartment. It was a moderate sized room, about the size of a small classroom. Two openings on the wall to my right led to a comfy bedroom and a slightly cramped bathroom. The wall opposite the room from the door I entered through had one very wide window, taking up about one half of the wall. My small dining table sat against it. It had a great view of the bridge and stream, and of the street of small businesses that would be teeming with life during the day. The refrigerator, counters, and sink were along the wall to my left.

I looked over these familiarities quickly and headed for my bedroom. I plopped down on the bed and removed all armaments from my person, casually dropping them off the side of my bed. I hadn't bothered turning any lights on. I knew the place far too well, and I had full intentions of going straight to sleep. I decided that it might not be a good idea to sleep in my full outfit. Reluctantly, I got up and stripped down to my sleeveless shirt and underwear. I laid down once more, this time pulling the covers over me. To my slight dismay, the small portal of a window behind the headboard of my bed let in a single ray of moonlight, just enough to illuminate the entire room. I should really have invested in a curtain by then.

I tried to ignore it and press on to sleep, but my eyes unwillingly opened and followed the lone ray of light to where it ended. In this lunar spotlight, against the wall past the foot of my bed, lied a medallion. It must've fallen off of my dresser that I'd sat it on when I first moved in, not intentionally moving it since. It had been purposefully out of sight. It glowed ominously in the light as I choked at an overwhelming flood of memories and emotions.

The emotions took me.

Visions of old friends and family members torn from me in the course events swelled in my eyes. Tears toppled down both sides of my face as I clenched my eyes shut with all of my might, in some desperate effort to close out the images of what would never again be reality. A father's protection. A mother's warmth. The smiles of dear friends now lost to me. My fingers tightened into fists. Other images starting bombarding my mind.

Father's blank expression as he went to join his squad. Hesitating before making it out of the front door. Tremors began to pulse through my body, as I lay immobile in my bed. I recalled his speed. His flawless reaction. He got me out of the way and into mom's arms as the green cloaked enemies infiltrated our home. Father fought against three of the Leaf Village's finest shinobi. He was driven then only by his obligation to save his family. But even he couldn't have won. As he was on his last legs, the demons in masks were called out by some disembodied voice to carry out a different task. Father called for someone to guard our house. He left either to join his squad or to pursue the attackers. I never new which. All I remember is that I wanted him to come home.

But that didn't matter. He returned then. And many times after that. But now, he was dead. And I have been brought against my will to a new village, now so easily called my home. I sat up slightly and turned over, thrashing my face into my pillow. I hated myself for being so ungrateful and weak.

I pried myself back into reality, my face still buried in the pillow drenched in tears. I turned the pillow over and laid my head on it. I choked back any further sobs. How could I be so weak? To be so quick to break down and cry? I had to be strong. I had a new village. There was no reason to be acting so childish. I couldn't change what had happened. My purpose for living was now to protect this village and the people in it. Tomorrow, my training would continue. I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes. My thoughts became more and more dreamlike until I drifted to sleep.

I slept, completely unaware of the pair of sadistically curious, demonic eyes that were watching me through my little portal of a window.


	3. Awaken

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. Or the Dead or Alive series. Or N. Gaiden.

***I'm still writing this chapter. I'll have the rest of it up soon, but this is what I have so far.***

"Ryu? Hey Ryu, are you in here?"

At first, the voice sounded like a whisper. But then, as I gained consciousness, I identified the obnoxious tone. It was Ino.

I grunted something in response. I'm pretty sure it was something along the lines of 'What do you want?'. It was too early for this.

"Ryu?" She invited herself into my bedroom. She looked at me disapprovingly.

Wait, how could she have gotten in? I had locked the door last night.

"What are you doing still in bed? And WHY the heck was your door left open?! Someone could have waltzed right in and robbed you blind!" The rather flustered Ino strolled over to my dresser and started looking over my belongings, scrutinizing every picture and trinket.

Wait… why _was_ my door open? I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I could only imagine what I must have looked like.

"Well? Are you gonna tell me or not?" She faced back toward me. I almost smiled at her agitation and concern, but I thought it best not to.

I thought for a second.

"Hmm. I have no idea. I'm sure that I locked it when I came in yesterday." The reality that someone must have forced open my door while I was asleep finally hit me. I sprung out of bed (yes, while in my underwear) and quickly scuffled over to my door, almost tripping over my rug in the living room. I examined the knob and lock. They weren't damaged at all, and neither was the doorframe. I took a look around, and nothing seemed to be out of place.

"Where's your key?" She walked back into the living room, holding my mother's old medallion. I winced at the sight of that thing.

"Hmm?" Ino's prompt brought me back to reality.

"-It's on the table by the window. I _know_ that I locked this door last night." I looked back at the locket.

"Could you put that back?" I asked.

"What, this?" She pointed at the locket. "You mean back on the floor where I found it?" Her grin complemented her smart allec remark.

I sighed. "No. On a shelf or something would be fine." I hated it when she won.

"Hmm. I guess that I could ask around for you or something. Y'know. See if anyone noticed someone. I mean, it's not like I'm doing anything today." She laid the locket on the coffee table. "But you need to get going. I ran into Kai on my way to Sakura's, and she kinda thought that you wouldn't get up and ready in time for training. She asked me to get you up."

She looked at her new watch.

"Hmm. It looks like you have about ten minutes before Sensei Charric begins your squad's training this morning." She crossed her arms and smiled. "You'd better get going."

Crap! I'd forgotten to set my alarm. Ino's grin widened as she noticed my frustration.

"I'll get out of your hair then," she sang as she walked toward the door. "Like I said, I'll ask around and see if anyone saw anything."

"Thanks, Ino." I had trouble making that sound sincere. She was enjoying this too much.

"Don't mention it." She smiled as she walked past me.

I somehow managed to put the thought of getting robbed on the back burner, and instead focused on getting ready and getting down to the training area in less than ten minutes.

**

"Three, two, one… that's it. He's officially late."


	4. Beautifully Average

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Or anything at all, really. Just sayin.

Notes: I really hope you enjoy this. I know that my readers are few, but I hope to change that. And review me. A simple "hi" is better than nothing. : )

From here on, the character's thoughts will be italicized.

And… I'm going to go ahead and make this a new chapter. Heh.

**Chapter Four: Beautifully Average**

"No… I don't like the looks of this."

Stepping into the grassy lot sent a violent chill down my back. The empty practice field brought my panting body to a halt, as the tense air pressed back against my every move. My anxiety from the silence and tiredness from the long run could be matched only by the intensity of my own melodramatics.

I had decided on my light grey outfit today. It seemed like a good look to stick to for a while. Certainly I stood out amongst the grass, its dew glistening against the sunlight. I looked around carefully, as I toyed with the leaf village's shinobi band around my neck.

"Hello? Sensei Charric-," I'd barely finished the thought before that first kunai whizzed toward me.

I didn't have time to move out of the way- my hand flew to my belt, pulling forth my favorite pair of kunai. The clashing of metal rang in my ear as I deflected the first knife. Before it had even hit the ground, a poised and ready Kai Tihao appeared at my side. I cushioned the blunt of her wide kick with my left arm, pivoting to face her as I set up my own kick into her stomach. Although striking the object of my affection wasn't the most chivalrous of moves, I justified it as just playing hard to get.

She weathered the hit surprisingly well, and stopped her assault just long enough for me to take my stance. The two double kunai felt wonderful in my grip. Operating them was like, in essence, controlling four knives at once. I was eager to see if she could keep up. Her face was blank, and she targeted me with intent to kill. She unsheathed a kunai knife and charged.

I didn't understand the logic of having Kai attack me head on like this. My tai jutsu was just plain better than hers. Her hits were strong and precise, but they were predictable. Our exchanges ended following my last block and follow up charge. She staggered to the ground.

_All she needs to do is throw me a pretty little pouty face. There is no force at my disposal that could possibly counter that_.

I smirked, but her expression stayed steady. As I took one step towards her, she disappeared in a puff of smoke. Some kind of trap sprang from the cloud; quickly binding me from shoulders to feet in roping. The line pinned itself deeply into the ground by steaks on either end.

"Crap!" My hands were bound tightly, hindering me from cutting through the chords. They were, however, bound together, making hand signs easily accessible. I dropped my kunai and channeled my chakra as quickly as I could, even though I wasn't exactly sure if I knew a jutsu that would help me out here.

Kai appeared off to my left a good thirty yards.

"Gotcha, Ryu!" Zuno's voice came from my right. I looked over that way to see him, at about the same distance off. He brandished his sword and disconnected it at the center of the hilt. The now two blades glimmered as he channeled his immense chakra energies through them. "Now, take this! Body Scythe Jutsu!" Two (familiar) gleaming blades of energy projected from his blades as he sliced the air.

Kai knelt. "Here goes." Her hands cycled through four hand signs at an amazing speed. "Buckshot Jutsu!" (I had always considered that technique title to be a tomboyish one). Her clean white bolt of chakra barreled toward me. I was completely immobilized and caught between two terrible attacks. I broke down each moment before impact in my mind, frantically cycling through all that I knew for something that could save my skin.

_I really wish that I would have just set my dumb alarm…_ I winced and tried to prepare myself for the realization of the pain that I was about to endure. If I even survived.

---

At first, I really thought that I was dead. I heard the roar of the impact, but I felt no pain. My eyes were clenched shut, and hard. It was an act of will to open them. My vision was blurry. My heart was beating out of control. I felt my pulse in my head, and everywhere that the chords were squeezing against my body. After it hit me that I was alive, I looked up. I was completely surrounded by walls of earth; the soil compacted so tightly that it almost had the appearance of stone. I regained my composure, and the walls lowered.

Directly in front of me was Sensei Charric, with Kai and Zuno at his sides.

"So, you were late again, huh Ryu? Well, we went ahead and started working without you. I hope you don't mind too much." He smiled. "Now, get yourself untied already. It's about time that I made shinobi out of you three."

*****

**That's all for now. Tell me if you liked it. I'll update again when I can. : )**


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